14. God's Omnipotence

Would we rather limit God’s power, or limit His goodness?

PREPARATION

Notes from When Bad Things Happen to Good People by Harold Kushner. Kushner raises three apparently contradictory tenets of faith:

God is omnipotent – He is the supreme power and He can do anything and everything.

God is good – the 13 attributes of mercy define God as good, just, compassionate, and kind.

Good people suffer – this is a fact rather than a belief, a reality that we see around us.

WORKSHOP

(1) Kushner said, 'If I had to choose between God's goodness and God's power, I would rather limit His power than limit His goodness'. What is the theological problem with this statement?

(2) What is the meaning of 'Ehyeh Asher Ehyeh' – 'I will be what I will be'? How does this set God apart from Man?

(3) How do we reconcile our ability to have free choice (i.e. God is not in control of my actions) with God's omnipotence? Does our ability to have freedom of choice mean that God is limited in this world?

(4) What is the purpose of God giving us free choice?

(5) How does free choice affect our understanding of suffering in this world?

(6) What is a 'Gilgul'? What is the function of 'Gilgul'?

(7) Give an example of a 'Gilgul' found in the Torah, of someone who came back to this world to rectify the sin of another.

(8) What promise did God make to our forefathers that set a limit to the suffering the Jewish people will endure in this world?

ANSWERS

(1) Q: Kushner said, 'If I had to choose between God's goodness and God's power, I would rather limit His power than limit His goodness'. What is the theological problem with this statement?

A: Kushner's response posits that God's power has limitations. This cannot be true. God by definition is All-Powerful. To say anything else is fundamentally flawed.

(2) Q: What is the meaning of 'Ehyeh Asher Ehyeh' – 'I will be what I will be'? How does this set God apart from Man?

A: Maimonides explains that only God can say, "I will be whatever I want to be." Humans are limited by their humanity. Only God is able to be whatever He wants to be and act however He chooses.

(3) Q: How do we reconcile our ability to have free choice (i.e. God is not in control of my actions) with God's omnipotence? Does our ability to have freedom of choice mean that God is limited in this world?

A: God is not limited in any way. God chooses to limit His involvement in this world in order to give us free choice. This is His gift to us – the ability to choose who we wish to become through our actions.

(4) Q: What is the purpose of God giving us free choice?

A: Free choice gives us the opportunity to choose to do good – and to gain our just reward. In order to choose good, free choice must also allow for the possibility of doing bad. A bad act is one that goes against God's will, and this too will have consequences. Since a person also has the choice to do evil, when they choose the path of righteousness they are rewarded.

(5) Q: How does free choice affect our understanding of suffering in this world?

A: In giving a human being the option to do things that God does not necessarily approve of, there may also be consequences that God may not necessarily 'approve' of – such as the suffering that results from a negative act, or even, in its extreme form, the murder or of the innocent. God made free choice a supreme value, and in doing so, acknowledged that there are going to be consequences that will not always be pleasing in God's eyes.

(6) Q: What is a 'Gilgul'? What is the function of 'Gilgul'?

A: The term 'Gilgul' means reincarnation. A person can come back to earth in another incarnation for a number of reasons. A soul may, for example, come back to Earth in order to affect 'tikkun ha'chet', rectification of a sin from a previous incarnation.

(7) Q: Give an example of a 'Gilgul' found in the Torah, of someone who came back to this world to rectify the sin of another.

A: Mordechai from the Purim story is said to be a Gilgul of our forefather Jacob. Mordechai risked his life to not bow to Haman. Kabbalah tells us that Jacob lived a perfectly righteous life with one exception: He bowed down to his brother, Esav. Mordechai's refusal to bow to Haman, even though it put his very life at risk, served to rectification the mistake of Jacob, allowing this soul to return to God in a perfected state.

(8) Q: What promise did God make to our forefathers that set a limit to the suffering the Jewish people will endure in this world?

A: God promised our forefathers that the Jewish people will be the eternal nation, and will inherit the Land of Israel.

SUMMARY

Source 1 states the three apparently contradictory tenets of faith raised by Rabbi Kushner in the previous class. If the statement 'Good people suffer' is true, then surely one of the other two statements in source 1 must be wrong. In this lesson, Rabbi Blech explores the question of God's omnipotence.

In his book, Kushner states: "If I had to choose between God's goodness and God's power, I would rather limit His power than limit His goodness." In effect, Kushner is saying, "If God were omnipotent, He would be able to save us from suffering." According to Kushner, the suffering of good people in this world 'proves' that God's abilities are limited. In effect he is saying, "I would rather believe that God is not able to help a person who is suffering, than contemplate the alternative – a seemingly good God allowing a person to suffer." This is easier to believe than Kushner's alternative – reject the statement that 'God is good'. Our previous class rejected that notion. Kushner's conclusion does not reflect the Torah approach to suffering in this world.

Rabbi Blech states that God, by definition, is All-Powerful. When Moses met God at the Burning Bush and asked, "If the Jewish people turn to me and ask me 'what is Your name (essence),' what should I tell them?" God replied, "Tell them Ehyeh Asher Ehyeh – I will be what I will be." Maimonides explains that only God is able say He will be whatever He wants to be. Human beings that are limited, but God is All-Powerful.

There is one area of God's Omnipotence that can help us to understand suffering in this world. God chooses to place a limitation on Himself in one area in this world. In order to give us free choice, God limits His involvement in the world. In giving us free choice, He is also giving us the choice to do things that He will not approve of – even if they cause suffering to others.

If God stopped people every time they attempted to do something wrong, people would no longer have the ability to choose between good and evil. Therefore God limits His involvement and intervention so we can retain our free choice. Since we can choose to be wicked, when we choose to be righteous, we are rewarded. By this logic, when a person chooses to do wrong, he will be punished.

Sometimes a person will suffer or die before his time, even though he is undeserving. In such a case, God 'owes' this soul its just reward – or in certain cases the ability to complete his time on Earth again. Rabbi Blech introduces the concept of 'Gilgul'? (reincarnation) as one method of God giving a person another chance to complete his mission on earth.

I'm told that it's a mitzvah to become intoxicated on Purim. This puzzles me, because to my understanding, it is not considered a good thing to become intoxicated, period.

One of the characteristics of the at-risk youth is their use of drugs, including alcohol. In my experience, getting drunk doesn't reveal secrets. It makes people act stupid and irresponsible, doing things they would never do if they were sober. Also, I know a lot about the horrible health effects of abusing alcohol, because I work at a research center that focuses on addiction and substance abuse.

Also, I am an alcoholic, which means that if I drink, very bad things happen. I have not had a drink in 22 years, and I have no intention of starting now. Surely there must be instances where a person is excused from the obligation to drink. I don't see how Judaism could ever promote the idea of getting drunk. It just doesn't seem right.

The Aish Rabbi Replies:

Putting aside for a moment all the spiritual and philosophical reasons for getting drunk on Purim, this remains an issue of common sense. Of course, teenagers should be warned of the dangers of acute alcohol ingestion. Of course, nobody should drink and drive. Of course, nobody should become so drunk to the point of negligence in performing mitzvot. And of course, a recovering alcoholic should not partake of alcohol on Purim.

Indeed, the Code of Jewish Law explicitly says that if one suspects the drinking may affect him negatively, then he should NOT drink.

Getting drunk on Purim is actually one of the most difficult mitzvot to do correctly. A person should only drink if it will lead to positive spiritual results - e.g. under the loosening affect of the alcohol, greater awareness will surface of the love for God and Torah found deep in the heart. (Perhaps if we were on a higher spiritual level, we wouldn't need to get drunk!)

Yet the Talmud still speaks of an obligation on Purim of "not knowing the difference between Blessed is Mordechai and Cursed is Haman." How then should a person who doesn't drink get the point of “not knowing”? Simple - just go to sleep! (Rama - OC 695:2)

All this applies to individuals. But the question remains - does drinking on Purim adversely affect the collective social health of the Jewish community?

The aversion to alcoholism is engrained into Jewish consciousness from a number of Biblical and Talmudic sources. There are the rebuking words of prophets - Isaiah 28:1, Hosea 3:1 with Rashi, and Amos 6:6, and the Zohar says that "The wicked stray after wine" (Midrash Ne'alam Parshat Vayera).

It is well known that the rate of alcoholism among Jews has historically been very low. Numerous medical, psychological and sociological studies have confirmed this. The connection between Judaism and sobriety is so evident, that the following conversation is reported by Lawrence Kelemen in "Permission to Receive":

When Dr. Mark Keller, editor of the Quarterly Journal of Studies on Alcohol, commented that "practically all Jews do drink, and yet all the world knows that Jews hardly ever become alcoholics," his colleague, Dr. Howard Haggard, director of Yale's Laboratory of Applied Physiology, jokingly proposed converting alcoholics to the Jewish religion in order to immerse them in a culture with healthy attitudes toward drinking!

Perhaps we could suggest that it is precisely because of the use of alcohol in traditional ceremonies (Kiddush, Bris, Purim, etc.), that Jews experience such low rates of alcoholism. This ceremonial usage may actually act like an inoculation - i.e. injecting a safe amount that keeps the disease away.

Of course, as we said earlier, all this needs to be monitored with good common sense. Yet in my personal experience - having been in the company of Torah scholars who were totally drunk on Purim - they acted with extreme gentleness and joy. Amid the Jewish songs and beautiful words of Torah, every year the event is, for me, very special.

Adar 12 marks the dedication of Herod's renovations on the second Holy Temple in Jerusalem in 11 BCE. Herod was king of Judea in the first century BCE who constructed grand projects like the fortresses at Masada and Herodium, the city of Caesarea, and fortifications around the old city of Jerusalem. The most ambitious of Herod's projects was the re-building of the Temple, which was in disrepair after standing over 300 years. Herod's renovations included a huge man-made platform that remains today the largest man-made platform in the world. It took 10,000 men 10 years just to build the retaining walls around the Temple Mount; the Western Wall that we know today is part of that retaining wall. The Temple itself was a phenomenal site, covered in gold and marble. As the Talmud says, "He who has not seen Herod's building, has never in his life seen a truly grand building."

Some people gauge the value of themselves by what they own. But in reality, the entire concept of ownership of possessions is based on an illusion. When you obtain a material object, it does not become part of you. Ownership is merely your right to use specific objects whenever you wish.

How unfortunate is the person who has an ambition to cleave to something impossible to cleave to! Such a person will not obtain what he desires and will experience suffering.

Fortunate is the person whose ambition it is to acquire personal growth that is independent of external factors. Such a person will lead a happy and rewarding life.

With exercising patience you could have saved yourself 400 zuzim (Berachos 20a).

This Talmudic proverb arose from a case where someone was fined 400 zuzim because he acted in undue haste and insulted some one.

I was once pulling into a parking lot. Since I was a bit late for an important appointment, I was terribly annoyed that the lead car in the procession was creeping at a snail's pace. The driver immediately in front of me was showing his impatience by sounding his horn. In my aggravation, I wanted to join him, but I saw no real purpose in adding to the cacophony.

When the lead driver finally pulled into a parking space, I saw a wheelchair symbol on his rear license plate. He was handicapped and was obviously in need of the nearest parking space. I felt bad that I had harbored such hostile feelings about him, but was gratified that I had not sounded my horn, because then I would really have felt guilty for my lack of consideration.

This incident has helped me to delay my reactions to other frustrating situations until I have more time to evaluate all the circumstances. My motives do not stem from lofty principles, but from my desire to avoid having to feel guilt and remorse for having been foolish or inconsiderate.

Today I shall...

try to withhold impulsive reaction, bearing in mind that a hasty act performed without full knowledge of all the circumstances may cause me much distress.

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